In Plato's "Meno," the overarching question is whether virtue can be taught, and as Socrates and Meno explore this subject, they are led to question the nature of teaching and learning in general. This paper is a textual analysis into what Socrates believes to constitute teaching in the "Meno," with the nature of learning also being tangentially addressed given the integral link between the two. After briefly explaining Meno's paradox and Socrates' theory of recollection, the author examines what Socrates says teaching is, and assesses what he "demonstrates" it to be in the slave-boy episode. While at first glance the slave-boy episode seems to contradict what Socrates says elsewhere about teaching, the author argues that a careful reading of the text erases the apparent contradiction, and shows that the slave-boy episode demonstrates five key characteristics of a teacher which, when taken together, define what Socrates believes to constitute teaching.

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